The newest

weapon in Peachtree City's firefighting arsenal debuted last week during

a blaze at Interlochen Drive.

The July 2

fire, which was sparked by a lightning strike, marked the first "action"

that the new Tower 80 unit was involved in, according to Fire Chief Stony

Lohr. The new tower truck was used to reach the roof, which in this unique

case would have been out of the reach of the city's 19-year-old tower

truck, Lohr said.

Fire crews

attacked the blaze from the inside and were successful in saving a majority

of the house from all but smoke and water damage, Lohr said.

The tower truck,

which reaches 104 feet into the air, adds another 29 feet of reach to

fire crews for fire attacks and rescue operations. In this case, because

the house was tall and on a significant hill, none of the fire apparatus

could park near the home, Lohr said.

The building

was approximately 60 feet height and since the tower truck had to reach

across the street, it had to reach over 25 or 30 feet in the front yard

to gain access to the roof, Lohr estimated.

The tower was

used to place a tarp over the hole in the roof so the structure could

be secured.

The blaze started

in the attic area and as firefighters attacked the flames, one nearly

fell through the floor area which would have been about a 25-foot fall

had he not been hanging on to a rafter to keep from falling through, Lohr

said.

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